His eyes on her intensifies at her words, a smile forming at the side of his lips. "So you lied." He says just as he swirls her around, turning her back to him.
Sophia gives a small chuckle. "So did you." She says looking at him just before she looks away and waltzed to the left. She did not need to look at him to know that his eyes had narrowed at her. "Your wife?" it was like a question. Shaking her head, "You should win an Oscar for spewing such a lie without blinking an eye." She says just as he turns her to face him again.
Callum looks down at the lady in front of him. She knew her way with words, he could already tell that. She was not a lady who shied away from a good conversation, nor was she one to beg for it. She had her own volume and standard. Another thing that confirmed that she was different from the rest she had met tonight. Nothing about her hinted at her being a gold digger or money hungry lady, but then again, appearance was not always it when it involved the women of Barcelona. They were masters at the art of faking what they were not, especially at events like this.
"Hm!" he says in response to her words. He would have to keep his wits up if he wanted to match hers. "So i- " he was cut short as the music came to an end.
Sophia looks up at him just as she curtseys to signal the end of the dance, and he bows in responds. "I guess it is goodbye then." She says walking away.
"Wait." Callum calls out just as soon as she has taken her first step left. She stops and turns to face him. His eyes on her, he gulps. Around them, people were already taking their position for the second dance, so he stretches his hand to her again. "Another dance?" he asks.
Sophia looks at him, then at the hand he was offering, and she sighs. As much as she enjoyed dancing with him and being around him, she had come to this ball for a reason, to find someone who needed an escort, be that escort, and get paid for it by the end of the ball. She had not paid five thousand Euros to that lady and her brother to come and dance with just anyone and go back empty. And dancing with this man, no matter how fine he talked and looked, will not get her bills sorted.
She needed to find someone who needed an escort, and she needed to do that fast before the third dance happens, or she will have no chance at being just an escort anymore because the major dances would be over by then. She looks at his hand again, and then she looks up at him, shaking her head. "I am so-
"You can't say no." he says, not like a command, he just, said them.
Sophia's brows raise at him, then scoffs. "You are not a man who is used to getting no for an answer, are you?" she asks, her eyes fixed on him.
"No." he says. He was not, not ever.
Sophia chuckles, running a look at him again. "Not that I believed you were. But," she offers him a big smile, "there say that there is a first time for everything, is it not." She smiles with her eyes. "Guess what, today you get your first no." she says just as she turns around and walks away.
"I will pay." Callum finds himself saying. Somehow, he did not want her gone. But his words did not make her stop or turn back. "Five million euros." Callum finds himself spewing out even before he could stop himself.
Sophia stops in her track. She had wanted to when he had offered to pay, but somehow, the way he had said it had made her unable to stop. It had sounded … like a slap to her face. But when she heard him call that amount of money, every organ and cell in her body had freeze. Five Million euros? Just for another dance with him? Just how rich was he? If she had that, she would need just a million euros more to be done with it.
So slowly, she turns to face him, hiding every sign of shock or surprise. She crosses her hands across her chest lazily, as she stares at him, reading his eyes. "Are you desperate?" Sophia finds herself asking him. She was the desperate one, so why was he offering that much just for a dance unless he too was desperate. No man should pay that high just for a dance even in Barcelona. Except he was really desperate for something.
Callum tucks out his right leg in that confident way he always did. "A little bit more than you would know." He says, his eyes on her.
All around them, people begin the second dance. She stares him in the eye, way past his mask, and into his soul for seconds more before she finally walks back to him and takes her position in front of him as they begin the second dance. "For the record, it is not because of the money." She says placing her hands on his shoulder just as he pulls her flush against himself.
The smell of jasmine hit his nose just as he pulls her flush against himself, and it was intoxicating. And somehow, it calmed all the demons raging inside him. It was not like the sprays and fragrances he was used to the women using in an infuriating amount, this one was different. It was mild, and it was comforting. And when she pulls away and twirls, his body moaned the temporary loss of her body next to his.
Callum gulps, "I know, but I already promised. I am a man of my words." He says moving in sync to her steps.
"Should I be asking about it? What has you desperate? Or it is none of my business so I should not concern myself with it?"
They both turn their back to each other just before they twirl to face each other again. He was walking on thin line here. His head was in disagreement with his mind. His head believed this lady would do an excellent job of what and all he had in mind. But his mind, it believed that she was too alluring for their own good. They were not seeking a sexual endeavor, but proposing a contract marriage to one as tempting as this one, was a risk, especially when it will involve them staying in the same space together for a
long time sometimes.